About this item
Highlights
- From the New York Times bestselling author of The Accidental Billionaires and Bringing Down the House--the sources for the film The Social Network and 21--comes the larger-than-life rags-to-riches tale of a group of University of Montana frat brothers who turned a weekly poker game in the basement of a local dive bar into AbsolutePoker.com, one of the largest online companies in the world.
- Author(s): Ben Mezrich
- 304 Pages
- Games, Card Games
Description
Book Synopsis
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Accidental Billionaires and Bringing Down the House--the sources for the film The Social Network and 21--comes the larger-than-life rags-to-riches tale of a group of University of Montana frat brothers who turned a weekly poker game in the basement of a local dive bar into AbsolutePoker.com, one of the largest online companies in the world.
Based on extensive insider interviews and participation, Straight Flush tells of the company's initial operations in the exotic jungle paradise of Costa Rica--where its founders embraced an outrageous lifestyle of girls, parties, and money--and of the gray area of U.S. and international law in which they created an industry. Soon, the U.S. Department of Justice was gunning for them... Should they fold--or double down and ride their hot hand? Impossible to put down, Straight Flush is an exclusive, never-before-seen look behind the headlines of one of the wildest business stories of the past decade.
From the Back Cover
The larger-than-life true tale of how a few frat brothers from Montana turned a weekly poker game in a dive bar into one of the most lucrative online companies in history
ased on extensive insider interviews, Ben Mezrich--bestselling author of The Accidental Billionaires and Bringing Down the House--chronicles the creation of AbsolutePoker.com, including the company's initial operations in the jungle paradise of Costa Rica where its founders lived an outrageous lifestyle of girls, parties, and money; and of the gray area of U.S. and international law in which they created an industry. Soon, the U. S. Department of Justice was gunning for them. . . . Should they fold--or double down and ride their hot hand? Impossible to put down, Straight Flush is an exclusive, never-before-seen look at one of the wildest business stories of the Internet age.
Review Quotes
"The reigning cowboy of creative nonfiction." -- The Oregonian
"A breakneck retelling of how a bunch of closely knit fraternity brothers built an online poker empire. ... Fast-paced and wild." -- Kirkus Reviews
"A near-perfect specimen of pulp nonfiction." -- New York Times
"The action is nonstop. ... Mezrich follows [the] friends from their University of Montana frat house to Costa Rica and Canada as the young entrepreneurs' extravagant lifestyle of booze, fast cars, and hot women spirals into death threats, auto accidents, 24-hour bodyguards, and federal indictments." -- Booklist
"Engrossing. ... I can't wait for the movie." -- Boston Globe